John Hewlett Senior Extension Specialist, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics

I grew up on a small farm in western Washington state, where I was involved in 4-H with a small flock of blackface sheep. I held sever-al ag jobs as a young person, picking strawberries and bucking my share of hay bales. The last couple of years of high school, I worked on a farm/ranch near my folk’s place. This operation farmed around 500 acres of green peas, sweet corn, silage, hay, small grains, and an occasional crop of spinach for seed. In addition, they ran upwards of 1,000 head of stocker cattle in the summers and usual-ly fed several hundred head through the winters. I worked on the Lightning-J ranch throughout my college career and while earning my Mas-ter’s degree. Along the way I attended Saint Martin's private college in Olympia (2 years), Montana State University (B.S.-1985), and Ore-gon State University (M.S.-1987). The eight years of real-world experience from the farm/ranch, coupled with the academic training and exposure to agriculture gained in two other states, gave me a unique perspective amongst my peers across the West. I came to the University of Wyoming Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics in July of 1987, where I was hired into a newly-created permanent Research Associate position. I worked on several projects with other departmental faculty, including the Land Market study, a wool demand project, and assisting the department adopt the new-fangled PC computer into its collective toolbox. In 1989 my appointment was changed to include a portion of Exten-sion time. Working in Extension was really my goal when I first accepted the position at UW and I have not looked back since. My area of greatest expertise is in the farm and ranch management area. I have always enjoyed opportunities to help producers im-prove their skills or refine their management capacity. I have had the privilege of working with teams of Extension profes-sionals both in Wyoming and across many other states to assemble programs to accomplish those goals. To name just a few projects: The Wyoming Network for Agricultural Management and Edu-

cation (NAME) network and Managing for the Future program that offered farm management courses across many counties and in community college classrooms.

Western Integrated Resource Education (WIRE), offering a

whole-ranch, sustainable, resource-based, team-taught pro-gram covering agricultural management and offered to Wyo-ming ranchers and farmers, that was eventually expanded to three other western states and presented for credit to UW students, as well as adapted for online delivery.

Ag Help Wanted, an educational guidebook (200+ pages) designed to assist persons who currently manage or expect to manage human resources on farms, ranches, nurseries, dair-

ies, and other agricultural operations (AgHelpWanted.org). Enterprising Rural Families, an interna-tional, research- and expertise-based online self-paced 26-week course and supporting materials for rural family business manag-ers. The RightRisk program offering risk management education, online courses, risk analytics tools, bulletins, newsletters, and other resources to managers in Wyoming and many other states. The project team also published Applied Risk Management in Ag-riculture in 2009 (RightRisk.org). A few of the other programs and teams I’ve been involved with include: Living and Working on the Land conferences, Wyo-

ming Extension Showcase on Technology events, Insuring Suc-cess for Western Agriculture programs, the Challenge Group series, Rural Family Ventures presentations, the Risk Manage-ment for Ag Families programs, Barnyards & Backyards monthly articles and annual newspaper inserts, the national Ag In Uncer-tain Times program, as well as our recent AG LEGACY efforts. My interactions with the teams and programs mentioned have provided me with the opportunity to offer programs and interact with producers, learning much from their shared experience and wisdom across a surprising number of U.S. states. In addition, I’ve been privileged to make presentations and visit agricultural operations in Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. I have tried to focus my educational efforts, research pursuits, and build my professional capacity to better allow me to assist farm and ranch managers to adapt and succeed in changing times. The analytical capabilities and access to information that has come about by widespread adoption of the PC computer, as well as the pervasive availability of the Internet has profoundly shaped the nature of managing today’s agricultural operations. For this reason my recent focus has been on risk management in agriculture. I see the development of our online courses and other

Volume 11—Issue 1 www.uwyo.edu/agecon Summer 2017

Continued back page.

Follow AgEcon on Facebook www.facebook.com/UWAgEcon

Hysong Recognized

MS Program Update We are pleased to have a very good group of graduate students in our Mas‐ter’s of Science program. For your inter‐est, here is what our graduate students are researching.   Second‐year (gradua ng summer '17) student projects: Holly Dyer – Valuing soil health bene‐fits for Wyoming ranchers. 

Hunter Bruce – Crowding effects on rack climbing demand in the Vedau‐woo recrea on area. 

Masked Rahman – Subsidy incidence in privately nego ated spot markets 

Sachintha Mendis – Es ma ng de‐mand for food quan ty and quality in urban China. 

Selena Gerace – Gender differences in nego ated market outcomes. 

Quick Reference Department of Agricultural and Ap-

plied Economics (307) 766-2386

www.uwyo.edu/agecon www.facebook.com/UWAgEcon

Staff Matt Andersen, Associate Professor Chris Bastian, Professor Mariah Ehmke, Associate Professor Kristi Hansen, Associate Professor Vardges Hovhannisyan, Assistant Prof. Don McLeod, Professor Ben Rashford, Associate Professor John Ritten, Associate Professor David “Tex” Taylor, Professor Jeff Edgens, Senior Lecturer (and

Dean at UW Casper) Cole Ehmke, Snr. Extension Specialist John Hewlett, Snr. Extn. Specialist Duane Williams, Snr. Extn. Specialist Tom Foulke, Senior Research Scientist Amy Nagler, Research Scientist Trish Hysong, Accounting Associate Janet Marsh, Office Associate Nicole Ballenger, Professor Emeritus Ed Bradley, Professor Emeritus Dale Menkhaus, Professor Emeritus Carl Olson, Professor Emeritus Alan Schroeder, Professor Emeritus In the Margins is the semiannual news-letter of the Department of Agricul-tural and Applied Economics at the

University of Wyoming in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The editor is Cole Ehmke.

To make a contribution or find out how you can help the department,

contact Roger Coupal, Associate Pro-fessor and Department Head:

coupal@uwyo.edu or (307)766-5539.

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Our own Trish Hysong has quickly become a valuable part of the AgEcon department, and the recogni on is piling up. In December, she received an Outstanding Employee Award from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and in April, she received a “Tip of the Cap” award from members of Mortar Board, the senior honor society at the University of Wyoming. Trish handles accoun ng for the department, and splits her  me with the Family and Consumer Science Depart‐ment. Our congratula ons, Trish! ◙

AGEC Faculty Receive NSF EPSCoR Grant Faculty in AGEC were recently awarded a highly compe ve NSF EPSCoR Track II research project. The four‐year, $6 million award is a collabora on between Montana State University, the University of South Dakota and the University of Wyoming. Using computer models and field experiments, the interdisciplinary project team will explore the ecological and socio‐economic implica ons of achieving a net‐nega ve carbon economy in the Upper Missouri River Basin, in‐cluding poten al impacts on water, agriculture, food, and energy.   The project will specifically examine the farm‐level and regional‐level economic implica ons of alterna ve land and energy management approaches, such as growing crops for bio‐fuels or changing agricultural prac ces to sequester more carbon. The project team at UW includes Ben Rashford, John Ri en and Roger Coupal in AGEC, Shannon Albeke in WYGISC, and Rob Godby in Economics. ◙

Holly Kirkpatrick – Elements of lead‐ership: exploring leadership develop‐ment at the University of Wyoming. 

 First‐year student projects: Haylee Gobert – The effect of house‐hold early literacy and music expo‐sure on human capital development: Evidence from New Zealand. 

Kaila Willis – Laramie Coun‐ty groundwater management 

Karsyn Lamb – Designing conserva‐on markets: The Wyoming Conser‐

va on Exchange.  Timur Ibragimov – Measuring the distribu on of economic benefits from adop ng genomic technology in the US beef industry: A case study of feed efficiency. ◙ 

Congratulations!

Spring 2017 Graduates 

In the Margins Summer 2017

Faculty Promotion Chris Bastian has been promoted from Associate to Full Professor. Well done! ◙

Haflinger draft horses Pistol and Pete lead the Spring 2017 graduates from the UW College of Agriculture and Natural Resources to Commencement Exercises in the A&S Auditorium.

Estate and Succession Planning Resources Available New resources from the department are available to help those considering how their lifetime will be re-membered. The Ag Legacy program coordinated by John Hewlett encourages discussion on five compo-nents of a true legacy: values and life lessons, personal possessions of emotional value, fulfilling final wishes and instructions, ownership of financial assets and real estate, and management succession. The materials are targeted to farm and ranch families, but the insights are relevant to all readers. The website aglegacy.org hosts: 1. Self-paced course materials - two covering A Lasting Legacy and three covering Management Succession issues; 2. Workbooks entitled - A Lasting Legacy, Management Succession, and Passing It On; 3. Twelve bulletins covering various estate planning issues and legal doc-uments; and 4. Modules covering specific legacy issues, including - newsletters, recorded webinars, and online learning components. These resources might help families you know develop and successfully transfer their legacy. ◙

Chelsea Bryner Henry Clay 

Catelyn Cornils Tyler Eubanks Shelby Gaddis 

Alexandrea Grant Aaron Jamerman 

Kyle Kumpf Josef Lindsey 

Jennifer Matosky Noah Newman Rachel Purdy Brett Roth 

Shelby Schreiner Garrett Seymour Malia Shipley Emily Sikorski Lindsey Soule 

Danielle Stravino Rangler Stuckey William West  

Graduates from the AgEcon Master’s of Science program, 2017. Graduates (on the front row) from le  to right: Holly Kirkpatrick, Sachintha Mendis, Mo‐hammad Rahman, Holly Dyer, Selena Gerace and Hunter Bruce. Graduates not pictured are Timothy Jackson and Abigail Castleton‐Tate. UW faculty 

(back row): Ben Rashford, Vardges Hovhannisyan, John Ri en, Chris Bas an, Chian Jones Ri en and Roger Coupal.  

Department News Janet Marsh got married on June 21. Congratulations! ◙

Follow AgEcon on Facebook www.facebook.com/UWAgEcon

New Publica ons  DesigningMarketsforHabitatConservation:LessonsLearnedfromAgriculturalMarketsResearch,B‐1297.KristiHansen,ChrisBastian,AmyNagler&ChianJones‐Ritten.Searchforitatwww.wyoextension.org/publications.

HowSweetareBeekeeperReturnsfromAlmondPollinationandHoneyProduction?MariahEhmke,C.Jones‐Ritten,B.Patalee,A.Bekkerman,K.Curtis&C.Ehmke.Academicpa‐per.Proceedingsofthe21stInternationalFarmManagementAssociationCongress.Edinburgh,Scotland.

FarmManagementEducationforWomen:TheAnnie’sProjectProgram.C.Ehmke.Appliedpaper.Proceedingsofthe21stInternationalFarmManagementAssoc.Congress.Edin‐burgh,Scotland.

TakingFullAdvantageofOilandGasDevelopmentLeases:Les-sonsforFarmManagersfromtheUnitedStates.C.Ehmke.Appliedpaper.Proceedingsofthe21stInternationalFarmManagementAssoc.Congress.Edinburgh,Scotland.

ArePopulationandLandUseChangesPerceivedasThreatstoSenseofPlaceintheNewWest?AMultilevelModelingAp-proach.Keske,C.M.H.,Bixler,R.P.,Bastian,C.T.andCross,J.E.RuralSociology.(2017).doi:10.1111/ruso.12121(availableonlineandcurrentlyinpressforpaperversionofjournal).

LandownerandLandTrustAgentPreferencesforConservationEasements:ImplicationsforSustainableLandUsesandLand-scapes.Bastian,C.T.,C.M.Keske,D.M.McLeod,andD.L.Hoag.LandscapeandUrbanPlanning.157(2017):1‐13.Leadarticle.

Applications Funded Hewlett, John: $263,000 from USDA Risk Management Agency for “Risk Management Education Addressing Malt Barley Operators;

Enterprise Risk Analysis; and Risk Management for Beginning, Retiring/Transitioning, and Other Farmers/Ranchers and Interested Indi-viduals in Wyoming 2016-17.”

Rashford, Benjamin, Dannele Peck, Roger Coupal, John Ritten, Robert Godby & Shannon Albeka: $369,473 from Montana State Uni-versity for “Integrating Sustainable Social, Ecological and Technological Innovation for Achieving Global Climate Stabilization through Negative CO2 Emission Policies.”

Ehmke, Cole, Justina Russell, Caleb Carter, Mae Smith, Caitlin Youngquist & Jeremiah Vardiman: $14,500 from Farm Credit Services of America for “Support for Annie’s Project in Wyoming 2017-2019.”

Presenta ons

AgLegacy:ResourcesonTransitionPlanning(poster)attheInter‐nationalFarmManagementAssoc.conferenceinEdinburgh,ScotlandbyJohnHewlett.

AgLegacy:ResourcesonTransitionPlanning(poster)attheNa‐tionalExtensionRiskManagementEducationconferenceinCincinnati,OhiobyJohnHewlett.

MarketingattheMarket:GettingtheMostfromBoothSpaceandEncouragingSalesviaSocialMediaattheGilletteSaturdayFarmer’sMarketVendor’sMeetingbyColeEhmke.

SuccessionPlanningon"CultureofAgriculture"livewebcastbyColeEhmke.

CurrentissuesinAgriculture,apanelofBenRashford,JayNorton,SteveWilliamsandColeEhmkeforAECL4990class.

DevelopinganEconomicModelofInfantImmunizationinNewZea-land(andWyoming)HouseholdsattheUniversityofAuckland(NewZealand)byMariahEhmke.

AnEconomicAnalysisofReturnstoBeekeepingandPollinationServicesatUniversityofOtago(NewZealand)byMariahEhmke.

TheEconomicsofFoodFraudPolicy:DeterminingConsumerWill-ingnesstoPaytoInformFoodFraudPolicyatUniversityofNewEngland(Australia)byMariahEhmke.

ConsiderationsinStartingaCSAVenture(poster)attheInterna‐tionalFarmManagementAssoc.conferenceinEdinburgh,Scot‐landbyColeEhmke.

EstimatingDemandforFoodQuantityandQualityinUrbanChina.MSdefensepresentationbySachinthaMendis.

Exchange Program Developing We’re pleased to see the fruition of efforts to build a partnership between UW AgEcon and the University of New England in Armidale, Australia. Tom Foulke and recently retired (and now Professor Emeritus) Nicole Ballenger worked with faculty in Australia to build an exchange program of undergraduate students. The first group of eight visits the Mountain West this summer and will be touring Wyoming and Colorado agricul-ture. At the same time, Mariah Ehmke travelled to Armidale late this spring and presented a seminar in the Agricultural and Resource Economics at UNE. She is pictured in their department with host Emilio Morales. Pre-viously Gary Griffiths, professor emeritus in Ag Econ at UNE presented some of his work here on cattle genetics and the connection between ge-netics and economics, and the work continues here today. ◙

In the Margins Summer 2017

Student Showcase

Profiles of AgEcon Scholarship Awardees

Kaylee Greenwald: Oletha Likins Fund 1. What is your background? Where are you from? I am a transfer student from Casper College, and this is my junior year. I am very excited to be at the University of Wyo-ming. I am currently involved in the Sigma Alpha Pi Honor Society, Wyoming Collegiate Cattle association, Wyoming

Stock Growers Association, and Wyoming Women in Fly Fishing. I am the fourth genera-tion of our family located just outside of Lingle, Wyoming. I was raised on the farm with my mother, father and my younger sister Makenna. 2. What would you like to do with your life? After I graduate from the University of Wyoming with a degree in AgBusiness I want to take the educa-tion that I earned back to our family farm and feedlot where I hope to improve book keeping, modernize our rations and continue to improve efficiency. 3. Why did you choose AgBusiness at UW? I chose to pursue a degree in AgBusiness because I have a passion for agriculture. The University of Wy-oming was a great choice for me because they trans-ferred my credits easily and the schooling is exempla-ry and affordable. 4. What has been a class that intrigued you, or some-thing that you found valuable in your time at UW? The University of Wyoming has improved my stud-ies and helped me grow as a student.

Ty Shockley: National Western Stock Show Scholar-ship and Farm Credit Services of America Land-Grant Scholarships 1. What is your background? Where are you from? I am from Wheatland, Wyoming. I grew up on a farm just east of town. My family

runs a small amount of cows, farms, and custom feeds about 7,000 head of cattle. In addition I run my own small operation of Hereford and Simmental cattle.

2. What would you like to do with your life? After getting my degree, I want to continue growing my own cattle operation. I am

also an accounting major and am interested in getting my CPA license and helping agriculturists with taxes and business planning.

3. Why did you choose AgBusiness at UW? I chose AgBusiness to increase my knowledge of running an agricultural operation,

to help improve my own operation. 4. What has been a class that intrigued you, or something that you found valuable in

your time at UW? One class that I have found interesting is intermediate microeconomics taught by Dr.

Phillips. I really enjoy the logic and reasoning behind the concepts. The material is presented in a way where it is rewarding to work through concepts and learn why theories apply.

Four Questions for AgEcon Students

1. What is your background? Where are you from? 2. What would you like to do with your life? 3. Why did you choose AgBusiness at UW? 4. What has been a class that in‐trigued you, or something that you found valuable in your  me at UW? 

Profiles of AgEcon

Last year we had 49 scholar‐ships awarded to AgBusiness majors, totaling about $112,000. We asked some of them about themselves. As alumni and stakeholders, it is your contributions that sup‐port these students’ fine efforts.  — Roger Coupal, Head, Agricul‐

tural and  Applied Economics 

Student

Follow AgEcon on Facebook www.facebook.com/UWAgEcon

Malia Shipley: Oletha Likins Fund I am from Lingle, Wyoming and my family runs a farm and feedlot operation. I am relatively open to any good opportunity that comes my way. I think that there are many

great careers out there and as long as I am doing something meaningful in a job that I en-joy I will be happy.

I chose AgBusiness because growing up around agriculture it has become something that I care very much about and find extremely important. Therefore, continuing to be a part of agriculture was something that I wanted to do. Also it has proven to be a versatile degree and I have been able to learn about many different things throughout the last four years so I feel that it has well prepared me for a variety of different careers.

I wouldn’t say that I have had a favorite class but I feel that I have learned something valua-ble from each one that I have taken. I enjoyed both of my intermediate economics classes. Other valuable things here at UW include all of the options of clubs and extracurricular activities to become involved in.

Aaron Jamerman: CHS University Scholarship My background is that I grew up in Douglas, Wyoming in a family associated with agriculture in multiple fields, so I have

had a passion for it since I was a kid. I want to become an agricultural lender upon graduating from the University, and ultimately I would like to have my own cow

-calf operation. I chose AgBusiness at the University of Wyoming because I have a deep passion for agriculture and I believe that UW has

one of the best Ag programs in this region. A class that intrigued me was Dr. Bastian's Agriculture Commodities and Futures course. I enjoyed this course because I feel

that it provided great insight on how to successfully utilize the futures markets. Something I value from my time spent at UW are the connections and relationships I have been able to make with both pro-

fessors and other students.

Eleanor Pontoriero: The Richard and Joyce Thorvaldson Clark Scholarship I am originally from the Cheyenne/Laramie area. I was born in Cheyenne but I grew up on a

ranch located halfway between Cheyenne and Laramie. I have always been involved in agriculture as my mom owns a business of breeding and raising horses as well as teach-ing riding lessons.

With my AgBusiness degree I plan on starting up my own business of breeding and raising commercial market goats. This has been an interest of mine for about nine years now and I believe it would be a great opportunity with the increasingly growing goat meat market.

I chose AgBusiness at UW because I believed it would give me the correct skills and tools I would need in order to pursue my career goals.

As being a transfer student and fall 2016 being my first semester at UW I have not had much time to experience a ton. However, a class that has intrigued me would be my Intro to Macroeconomics class. It is very challenging yet the material is interesting.

In the Margins Summer 2017

Scholarship Awardees

Showcase

Jessica Baker, The Amanda and Oscar Schmale Scholarship

1) I come from the small town of Mariposa, California where I grew up on my grand-parents’ cattle ranch. I did FFA all four years of high school and got to compete at

nationals with my natural resources team. I did 4-H when I was younger and did activities that ranged from cake decorating to showing pig. 2) During my spare time I usually try to find a spot to go hiking. I love being outdoors and hiking is my fa-vorite way to spend it. In the summer months I spend a lot of time at the lake with my family. If it is during the months of August through January I will usually be found watching football games. 3) I wanted to become one of the AgBusiness family at UW because I knew it was something special. When I came for orientation it felt comfortable for me to be here. The teachers seemed like they genuinely cared about you both on a personal and academic lev-el. Since I was going to be attending school over 1,000 miles away from home I needed some place I felt comfortable, and I found it at UW.

4) One of my favorite courses so far has been Practice Makes Perfect ( AGEC 3020 Applying Principles of Economics to Current Agricultural and Agribusiness Prob-lems). It was a new class introduced to in spring of 2016 and I was one of the first students to ever take the course. This course is what led me to find my perfect career after being in school for almost three years and still not having a clue. Most of the classes I have been enrolled in at UW challenge you in different ways and you are able to learn something different from everyone.

Ashley Hyche: Joe and Arlene Watt Agriculture Scholarship What is your background? Where are you from? My family ranches about 10 miles north of Wheatland, Wyoming. 2. What would you like to do with your life? Currently I am majoring in AgBusiness with a minor in Environment and Natural Resources. I

would like to further my education by pursuing Law School and specializing in environment and natural resource law. I would also like to get into agricultural estate planning.

3. Why did you choose AgBusiness at UW? I choose AgBusiness at the University of Wyoming because the College of Agriculture is such a

personable college where I feel at home. 4. What has been a class that intrigued you, or something that you found valuable in your time at

UW? I have really liked all of the RSOs involved with the College of Agriculture and the class that I

am taking particularly within the College of Agriculture happens to be Farm and Ranch Man-agement and it is a wonderful class with a lot of useful information for a future within a agri-culture operation.

Melissa Campbell: Farm Credit Services of America Land-Grant Scholarships 1. I was raised on a ranch on the North Dakota-South Dakota border. 2. I would like to be a loan officer for a private bank or for the FSA. 3. I chose AgBusiness at the Uni-versity of Wyoming because my parents went here and because the program is so strong. 4. One class that has intrigued me was Agricultural Business Manage-ment.

In the Margins Nonprofit Organization US Postage

Paid Laramie, WY 82072

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University of Wyoming Agricultural and Applied Economics, Dept. 3354 1000 E. University Ave. Laramie, WY 82071

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educational materials, as well as our onsite programs are greatly needed as managers continue to adapt to an increasingly compet-itive environment. Our hope is that our risk analytics tools and regular newsletters are helpful to operators looking to evaluate which risk controls and management strategies will help them achieve their goals and keep the operation under family owner-ship into the future. Along the way, the tools and approaches to education used by an Extension Specialist have certainly changed as well. I began my career making presentations with an overhead projector and markers. Today we use email, web sites, online courses, mobile computer labs, webinars, electronic meeting rooms, and social media as a way to leverage our onsite offerings. The hope is that these other modes of delivery make our materials more readily available to a more diverse audience. That is the hope. But I must admit that I miss the days of sitting down with farm fami-lies over a cup of coffee to discuss their management challenges across a kitchen table, working one-on-one to identify solutions that fit their individual situation. ◙

John can be reached at (307) 766-2166 and hewlett@uwyo.edu.

AgEcon annually takes UW ag students to France for a month‐long sum‐mer study of European agriculture, partnering with École Supérieure d’Agruculture (ESA), a private agricultural university, located in the his‐toric city of Angers (125 miles southwest of Paris), in the lush Loire Val‐ley. Here are (back row) Kyle Webber and Professor Kris  Hansen. Front 

row: Emily Poss, Heather Loraas and Sadie Kinslow. ◙